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Haunting Ground
Haunting Ground, known as Demento in Japan, is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom for the Playstation 2 in 2005. Gameplay The player assumes the role of Fiona and navigates through the castle with Hewie, a 4 year old white German Shepherd, who forms an immediate bond with Fiona. Hewie is crucial to the player's survival, as he can be used to attack stalkers and other enemies. Hewie requires training, however, and if neglected, over-praised, or mistreated will disobey Fiona. The player must solve puzzles, locate keys, and evade enemies to find her way out. There are opportunities to defeat each stalker, but during random encounters, Fiona can use Hewie or alchemic items on enemies, or run away. In addition to stalkers, Fiona must avoid two other enemies: Homunculi and Luminessants. While adult Homunculi pose no immediate threat to Fiona, the fetal versions attach themselves to Fiona's legs and shriek, alerting stalkers to Fiona's location. Luminessants, on the other hand, follow Fiona by the scent of her Azoth, and crash into her, emitting a loud noise which also draws attention to Fiona's location. Fiona is easily frightened and if fearful enough, she will go into panic mode. During this time, the screen becomes grainy, the frame-rate is slower, and Fiona becomes uncontrollable, running aimlessly until panic mode ends. Fiona can be killed after receiving critical blows from stalkers, and is the most vulnerable during panic mode. Fiona can no longer issue commands to Hewie during panic mode, only able to yell for help. If Fiona falls during panic mode, any further damage will kill her, and the player will restart at the last save. Hewie can also be killed after sustaining enough damage, but only on Hard Mode, which results in a Game Over. On Normal Mode, Hewie is knocked unconscious and must be revived with jerky. Story Fiona Belli is an 18 year old college student who, after a car crash with her parents, is alone, wearing nothing but a sheet, and trapped in a remote castle with strange inhabitants who pursue her for reasons initially unknown to Fiona. Early in the game, Fiona meets Hewie, who is her only companion throughout the game. She first encounters Debilitas, the gardener and handyman who has the mental capacity of a child, followed by Daniella, the beautiful housekeeper. Riccardo, the groundskeeper, is the third stalker, and the final and main antagonist is Lorenzo, the master of Belli Castle. Lorenzo is initially thought to be aiding Fiona, as he guides her through the castle with the aid of letters and film reels, but he is revealed to have ulterior motives. Initially believing Fiona to be a doll, Debilitas chases her around the castle, attempting to catch her in a bear hug, which can be deadly for Fiona. During this time Fiona meets Daniella and sees her occasionally through the castle, and Riccardo who seemingly comes to her aid when Debilitas chases her. She is eventually led into the church where she is given two options to defeat Debilitas, which determine the outcome of the game. She can crush him with the chandelier, which leaves him alive, or kill him with Hewie or alchemic items. Immediately after Debilitas is gone and Fiona moves on to the mansion, Daniella is reintroduced as the next stalker. She is far more aggressive and violent than Debilitas was, and much smarter. Fiona has to solve many puzzles in this section and Daniella is almost always around every corner. Fiona's trials leader her to the top of the library, in the equatorial room, where after solving another puzzle, Daniella is impaled with a shard of glass. On the other side of the mansion, Fiona is reintroduced to Riccardo, who explains his intentions for her and threatens her with a gun. Fiona evades Riccardo long enough to escape into the Chaos Forest, where he eventually captures her and takes her to the water tower. She is rescued by Hewie, and together they work their way to the top of the tower to fight Riccardo. After knocking him off the tower, the descend the spiral stairs to cross the bridge. After crossing the bridge from the water tower, Fiona enters the House of Truth (H.O.T.) and finally meets Lorenzo, an elderly man confined to a wheelchair. Lorenzo reveals his intentions to Fiona and begins to chase her. She crushes him on a conveyor belt and continues through the mansion. Lorenzo, not actually dead, is resurrected and transforms into a younger form of himself, reminiscent of Fiona's father. After she knocks him into a pit of lava, he rises once more as Flaming Lorenzo, whom Fiona must outrun until she reaches the exit door. With Lorenzo defeated, Fiona is able to leave the castle with Hewie. The final scene depends on certain actions the player took during and after the battle with Debilitas. Return to Pages.